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Business and The arTs in MiaMi-dade CounTy

Special community RepoRt:

Where Business ConneCTs WiTh The CulTural arTs

the Beacon councilin Partnership with the miami-Dade county Department of cultural affairs

At times it has seemed as if the intersection of Miami-Dade County’s business and cultural arts

communities has been a crossing of two dirt roads. However, this report illustrates that there

exists a crossing of two expanding highways. The Beacon Council determined that a need existed

to measure, encourage, and promote the business community’s role in the cultural arts. Through

its Business and The Arts Initiative, The Beacon Council is taking the lead to address this issue.

Beginning as a trading post a little over 100 years ago, Miami-Dade has emerged as the “Business

Center of the Americas.” Once known solely for its tourism industry, Miami-Dade began to evolve

into clean, light manufacturing. It has since expanded into a global hub of international commerce.

Over 85,000 companies are located in Miami-Dade County, employing over 1.1 million people.

Miami-Dade’s population is approximately 2.5 million. As Miami-Dade’s industry base has

diversified, so too has its population. Over 50% of the population was born outside the United

States. Over 60% are Hispanic. Virtually every country in the world is represented within our

population.

Miami-Dade’s maturing Cultural Arts institutions have diversified as well. There are 1,100 arts

organizations flourishing in our community. They are positioned to play an important role in

the growth and vitality of our community throughout the 21st century. Americans for the Arts,

the nation’s leading non-profit organization promoting the arts throughout the United States,

completed a national study on the economic impact of the arts and cultural communities in cities

and counties around the country, including Miami-Dade County. Their study did not address the

questions of how and why corporations support the arts and cultural institutions.

The Americans for the Arts’ “Arts and Economic Prosperity” study on Miami-Dade County showed

that the economic impact of the arts community is over $992 million. This number is based

on the direct spending by the cultural institutions and on event-related spending by attendees.

The report notes that in addition to the direct spending, other businesses surrounding arts

venues and events benefited from the activities of the cultural institutions and their attendees.

Their study focused only on the non-profit arts and cultural industry, excluding activities in the

for-profit film and entertainment sector. The spending by the arts entities includes anything

needed for operating the organization, similar to for-profit companies, such as salaries, supplies

and services.

Highlights from the Americans for the Arts, “Art and Economic Prosperity” study of Miami-

Dade County:

• Nearly 23,000 people are employed by these cultural institutions.

• Over 19,000 volunteers contribute almost 650,000 volunteer hours annually to Miami-Dade

County cultural institutions.

• Arts events in Miami-Dade County recorded a combined total of over 12.7 million attendees.

neW york TiMes2006 Fall Travel Magazine

“MiaMi is The neW neW york.”

Miami-Dade County’s diverse cultural landscape

includes great theater, world-class music and

dance performances, educational programs for

kids, international art exhibitions, outstanding

museums, major festivals and the magnificent

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

The Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County’s

official economic development organization,

has partnered with the Miami-Dade County

Department of Cultural Affairs to create the

Business and The Arts Initiative focused on our

community. The goals of the initiative are to:

1) Better understand how and why local

corporations (small or large) support arts

organizations;

2) Develop a more integrated business and arts

sector;

3) Promote the arts and cultural assets of Miami-

Dade County as a major aspect of the quality of

life when attracting companies to Miami; and

4) Grow this sector by strengthening the cultural

and arts entities.

The Business and The Arts survey was designed to solicit information from the business

community about their involvement in the arts sector. This survey may be the first of its kind to

analyze the business aspects of involvement by companies and not just their participation as

an audience or their contributions as civic duty.

Traditionally companies would sponsor and be involved in cultural organizations or events as

part of good corporate citizenship. In other well-established cultural centers, organizations

have benefited from long-term relationships with major corporations. Miami-Dade County is a

young community and its cultural arts sector even younger. Combined with the lack of major

corporate headquarters, there is a need to look at other approaches in having the business

community build relationships with the arts community.

The “Business and The Arts” survey addressed issues regarding the need for a thriving cultural

arts industry, why and how companies are contributing, how their staffs are taking part in, and

how decisions are being made about participating in the cultural arts sector. The survey was

sent to over 1,800 people and 132 responded; resulting in a 7.3 percent response rate. The

survey consisted of 12 closed questions and one open-ended question. One question asked

about company involvement in corporate giving. The second and third questions asked about

diversity in company size and markets served, indicating that the respondents represented a

cross-section of the business community. The remainder of the survey focused on company

involvement in the arts community.

2008 MiaMi-dade CounTy survey resulTs

Business and The arTs:

Arts and Culture and Education were the top two areas which the respondents support in their corporate giving. This was followed by Civic Engagement and Health and Human Services.

Does your organization have a philanthropic corporate giving program that supports…? (Please check all that apply)

Question 1:

Corporate Giving Program Percentage Responses (more than one response possible)

Arts and Culture 53.0%Education 53.0%Civic Engagement 36.4%Health and Human Services 34.1%Environment 16.7%Other 16.7%

Over a third of the respondents have 251 or more employees, followed by companies that have between 11 and 25 employees and 1-10 employees.

How many employees does your company have in Miami-Dade County?

Question 2 :

251 employees and up 36.4%11-25 employees 18.2%1-10 employees 14.4%101-250 employees 12.9%51-100 employees 10.6%26-50 employees 7.6%

Employment Size Percentage Responses

Over half of the respondents indicated that South Florida is the market; about a third has Latin America and the Caribbean as their market. Other studies, including the 2008 WorldCity/Beacon Council South Florida

Global Economic Impact Study, have shown that many companies use Miami-Dade County as a platform to business in all of the Americas.

Which market(s) does your company serve? (Please check all that apply)

Question 3 :

South Florida 56.1%Latin America and the Caribbean 33.3%World-wide 31.1%United States 29.5%Other 12.9%

Market Percentage Responses (more than one response possible)

Over 75 percent indicated that it is very important or important to have a strong cultural community in Miami-Dade County. Less than seven percent of the respondents felt it was not important.

How important is having vibrant cultural activities to your business and employees?

Question 4:

Very important 45.4%Important 30.8%Somewhat important 16.9%Not important 6.9%

Importance Percentage of Responses

Less than 10 percent of the respondents indicated that they do not support the arts. Of the 90 percent of respondents who do support the arts, almost 60 percent supports the cultural arts through financial contribu-

tions. Companies also provide strong support through patrons of the arts (buying tickets or membership of arts organization) and employee participation on boards of directors.

How does your company support the arts? (Please check all that apply)

Question 5:

Financial contributions 58.9%Employee participation on non-profit boards of directors 50.8%Patrons: tickets/memberships 50.0%Time and talent (volunteers) 38.6%In-kind contributions (products or pro bono services) 32.6%Other 11.4%Company does not currently support the arts 9.9%

How companies support the arts Percentage Responses (more than one response possible)

Over two-thirds of the respondents indicated that senior management is primarily responsible for the decision making of resource allocation. Other staff levels are minimally involved in the decision making process.

Who is involved in allocating resources to non-profit arts activities? (Please check all that apply)

Question 7 :

Senior management 78.8%N/A 10.6%Middle management 6.8%General staff 4.5%

Staff level involvement in decision making onallocating resources

Companies considered their contributions mainly as a sponsorship or a charitable donation. It was less seen as a marketing tool (advertising or promotional) and this response fits well into the traditional manner in which companies are engaged with the arts

community. Partnership was cited in only about 17 percent from the respondents.

If your corporate philanthropy includes financial contributions to the arts, is the expense considered to be…? (Please check all that apply)

Question 6:

Sponsorship 40.2%Charitable 40.2%Advertising/marketing 25.8%Visibility 20.5%Promotional 19.7%Partnership 17.4%Entertainment 16.7%N/A 16.2%

Arts contribution is considered to be Percentage Responses (more than one response possible)

Percentage Responses (more than one response possible)

Over 60 percent saw it as part of their community relations efforts. More than 40 percent viewed it as a marketing strategy of the company. The respondents did not see it as a vehicle for professional development of their staff, nor

was it seen as a method to receive any tax benefits when financially supporting the arts community.

Does your organization have a philanthropic corporate giving program that supports…? (Please check all that apply)

Question 8:

As with question 9, senior management is largely responsible for the final decision making on supporting a community organization.

Who makes the decision to support community organizations? (Please check all that apply)

Question 10 :

Owner/president/CEO 52.3%Company’s executive committee 43.9%Marketing executive 18.9%Community relations executive 15.2%

Decision maker to support community organizations Percentage Responses (more than one response possible)

Corporate Giving Program Percentage Responses (more than one response possible)

Community relations 62.9%Marketing strategy 41.6%Business development 41.6%Charitable giving program 38.6%Promotional strategy 27.3%Professional development for staff 11.4%Tax benefits 4.5%Opportunity to reduce tax liabilities and to increase 3.8% financial incentives

How is an organization chosen for support? (Please check all that apply)

Question 9 :

How are organizations chosen to be supported Percentage Responses (more than one response possible)

The responses to this question reflect the responses in Question 7. In both cases, senior management is responsible for choosing the organization to support. Marketing and community relations executives are less involved in the

decision making process. Clients’ suggestions and requests from the community also play a role when choosing an organization to support.

Owner/president/CEO 49.2%Company’s executive committee 34.1%Request from the community 27.3%Marketing executive 21.2%Community relations executive 18.9%Clients’ suggestions 18.9%Application process 9.1%Employee survey 4.5%

Only a quarter of the respondents indicated that employees were involved as part of their job. Employees volunteer and/or partici-pate on personal time, independent of the company’s involvement in the arts community. Less than 20 percent of the respondents

allow their employees to participate as a reward or perk.

Employees participate in the arts: (Please check all that apply)

Question 11 :

As volunteers 43.9%On personal time, independently of the company 41.7%As part of their job 25.8%As a reward or perk 18.2%N/A 12.9%

Reasons why employees participate in the arts Percentage Responses (more than one response possible)

Over 79 percent of the respondents indicated that the decision to support a cultural arts group is made within Miami-Dade County, with over 8 percent of the decisions made regionally (within South Florida). Less than 10 percent of the decisions are

made outside South Florida when the corporate headquarters are not located in the South Florida area.

Where is the final decision to support non-profit arts/cultural organizations made?

Question 12 :

Locally (Miami-Dade County) 79.3%Corporate Headquarters outside South Florida 9.9%Regionally (South Florida) 8.3%Other 2.5%

Location where final decision is made Percentage Responses

One of the issues businesses have in working with the cultural arts is how to define the

“value proposition”. What is it that a business receives for its investment? How does one

determine the return-on-investment? What should a business expect in the bargain?

Answers to these questions will help businesses incorporate the cultural arts as part of their strategic

growth plans. As the survey illustrates, business leaders are not fully engaging their employees or the

full extent of their business resources to maximize their investment in this commodity.

The Beacon Council and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs will continue to seek

answers to these questions as we work to foster a more integrated working relationship between

“Business and The Arts”. Together we will research and refine the data outlined in this survey to

develop future marketing and promotional opportunities – specifically when marketing Miami-Dade

County throughout the world.

WhaT did We learn…

…and Where do We go FroM here?

- There is recognition by companies throughout Miami-Dade County – regardless of size – of the value

of the cultural arts in our community.

- Senior management makes the decisions regarding support for the arts.

- Decisions are often strategic and focused upon community relations, marketing, and promotion.

- Contributions are derived from among three sources within a company: Charitable Giving,

Marketing/Advertising, and Sponsorship.

- Many employees volunteer their talent and time for arts organizations; however, not as part of

a strategic corporate plan and not particularly aligned with the same organizations to which their

company contributes.

- Overwhelmingly, decisions to support arts organizations are made by senior management at the

local level.

The Beacon Council in partnership with the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs

Pete Pizarro Jorge Perez Chair Chair The Beacon Council Cultural Affairs Council

Frank R. Nero Michael Spring President and CEO Director The Beacon Council Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs

In Grateful Appreciation For Their Support For Economic Development And The Arts

Honorable Carlos AlvarezMayor, Miami-Dade County

Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners

Honorable Bruno Barreiro, ChairDistrict 5

Honorable Barbara J. Jordan, Vice ChairDistrict 1

Honorable Dorrin D. Rolle Honorable Audrey Edmonson District 2 District 3

Honorable Sally A. Heyman Honorable Rebeca Sosa District 4 District 6

Honorable Carlos A. Gimenez Honorable Katy Sorenson District 7 District 8 Honorable Dennis C. Moss Honorable Javier D. Souto District 9 District 10

Honorable Joe A. Martinez Honorable José “Pepe” Diaz District 11 District 12

Honorable Natacha SeijasDistrict 13

George BurgessMiami-Dade County Manager

80 SW 8th Street, Suite 2400Miami, FL 33130

Tel: 305-579-1300 Fax: 305-375-0271www.beaconcouncil.com